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December 2014 • SMT Magazine 19 hit 45–55 GW level. In the U.S., more than 9.4 GW of cumulative solar electric capacity was in- stalled in 2013. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stated that solar is one of the fastest-growing sources of new energy in the United States. To spur new solar deployment na- tionwide, FERC issued a new order that allows solar projects that meet certain requirements to qualify for a "fast track" interconnection process, thus eliminating the need for costly and time- consuming studies. This new development will help reduce interconnection bottlenecks. Chi- na's Bureau of Energy proposed to increase solar power installations from the previous target of 10 GW to 12 GW in 2014. The prevalent view is that reaching 15 GW is likely. This time around, on top of the elevated installation target to help the industry, Bei- jing is accelerating its build-up of solar power plants, which will undoubtedly help the so- lar panel sector. This action is expected to rectify any re- sidual imbalance that wrecked the industry for the last two years in an extraordinary way. Obviously, this action is good for "healthy" pure-solar play- ers who survived the two-year downturn, such as Canadian Solar, Trina, Yingli, and First So- lar, but not the "unhealthy" com- panies, who are goners. In photovoltaic cell technology, while thick film and thin film are co-existing in the mar- ketplace, the quantum dot technology is bur- geoning in the laboratory prototype, which is poised to leapfrog the existing technologies. In the marketplace, thin film has lost market share during last two years due to the market turmoil and lack of scale. Going forward, the advanced thin technolo- gy coincides well with the future growth of mo- bile devices. In terms of regional market, there will be a market re-distribution geographically. The solar PV market is shifting from Europe to Asia Pacific. However, not to ignore Europe; it remains overall a vast pool of end demand for solar energy, accounting for nearly a third of global demand at 10–12 GW in 2014. Europe will be stable in 2014 and will remain a key re- gion for business." What Happened in 2014: After three years of overcapacity and declin- ing profits, global PV end-market demand set new records in 2014, varying with regions and nations. This does not mean PV has become a challenge-free sector. In terms of installation, the top five market leaders are China, Japan, U.S.A., U.K. and Germany. Other countries, such as Turkey, India, and Thailand, also started showing increased activities. Companies that steered through turbulent waters in recent years continue to reap eco- nomic dividends. Among the new or innova- tive business alliances, Canadian Solar has joined a growing field of Chinese solar panel mak- ers entering the risky business of speculative development in China, with its launch of a new locally-based fund for so- lar power construction. This business venture demonstrates the restored confidence in so- lar industry. Solar cell technology is also moving forward. The applica- tions of quantum-dot films and the technology of low-temper- ature, solution-processed, quan- tum-dot photovoltaic cells have made progress. Although there is still a long way to go before quantum-dot solar cells are commercial- ly viable, the advances made are encouraging. From January 2014 Outlook: "The industry's technology and manufac- turing are expected to move ahead with in- cremental improvements. On conflict mineral disclosure requirements, 2014 will be the first filing year to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule. The rule re- quires supply chain due diligence and special- ized reporting by companies that manufacture or are contracted to manufacture products that contain certain minerals originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoin- ing countries. Conflict mineral disclosure re- 2014: YeAr-eNd revIeW continues SMT proSpECTS & pErSpECTivES Going forward, the advanced thin technology coincides well with the future growth of mobile devices. In terms of region - al market, there will be a market re-distribution geographically. " "